Digitally remastered reissue of the Dutch alternative act's 1985 4AD debut with three bonus tracks not on the original vinyl LP: 'A Day' (Remix) & 'Stranger' (Remix) and 'Muscoviet Musquito' from the 'Lonely Is An Eyesore'... more &raquo compilation. 11 tracks total, all digitally remastered. 1999 release.&laquo less

Synopsis

Digitally remastered reissue of the Dutch alternative act's 1985 4AD debut with three bonus tracks not on the original vinyl LP: 'A Day' (Remix) & 'Stranger' (Remix) and 'Muscoviet Musquito' from the 'Lonely Is An Eyesore' compilation. 11 tracks total, all digitally remastered. 1999 release.

CD Reviews

STOP!

Farshid Arjomandi | California, USA | 12/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Clan of Xymox was formed in 1983 in Amsterdam (Holland) playing gloomy, gothic, fast-beat analog Euro-dance/synth-pop music. The original lineup included Ronny Moerings, Pieter Nooten, Frank Weyzig, and Anke Wolbert. This excellent 1985 debut on the 4AD label is very similar in style and delivery to Alphaville's 1984 debut, "Forever Young". I highly recommend their first three albums to all the 80's music fans. The following is an album discography for the Clan to date; note that from 1988 to 1996 the band had shortened their name to "Xymox". There is also one bootleg CD compilation, as far as I know, which collects together their 1980's B-sides. [Discography updated in December 2009.]

"So it wasn't 'radio friendly', per se. Not due to lack of memorable melodies or catchy, gloomy dance tracks. Clan of Xymox always got ragged by critics because they didn't have an original sound. Maybe that was true--they wore their influences on their sleeve--Ronny Moorings used to tout New Order as the greatest band around and made no bones about wanting to be like them. He was just a bit darker than Sumner and Co. But as the years have passed and all the other bands that made music like this have faded away, people still want these early Clan of Xymox records like crazy. They want them because they're so damn good. Sure, it's a bit o' Cure, a bit o' New Order, with a 4AD glaze, but it goes down so easy. No music evokes wintry atmospheres and that special brand of romanticism that the 80's synth pop bands had quite like Clan of Xymox. Sure, tons of people made music like this in the early and mid '80's, but nobody put these elements together with such grace as Ronny Moorings. Ronny's a bit like Trent Reznor or Billy Corgan--the music is almost always written and performed by him 100%(save for the few Pieter Nooten tracks scattered about). His indulgences are his strength and his voice is, in my opinion, THE definitive goth voice. Oh, I know Pete Murphy, Andrew Eldritch, etc., etc. I love them, too and they're great vocalists. But Ronny has a way with those lower registers and with those impassioned high notes like nobody else plus, a pretty cool way of doubling the low register with the high register to maintain the dark croon and the desperate howl all at the same time. The Clan's instrumentation made them great too. Electronic dance beats, synths, acoustic guitar, and synth strings were almost always the formula, not to mention some cool use of early sampling (further explored on 'Medusa'). With the ever masterful John Fryer at the production helm, this record is a sure bet to please anyone with a taste for the melancholy mirrorball from the time when Joy Division and Kraftwerk were THE patron saints of European music. Eat this one up!"

The crown jewel of 4ad

raven | texas | 09/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Wow, I cannot believe that it has been nearly 20 years since I first heard "A Day" on the dancefloor at the new wave/goth club Blitz in Phoenix. The DJ used to play the remix of A Day, and I can remember thinking "this is the coolest song ever". I asked the DJ who it was and I understood him as saying "Zylocks" so I looked for Zylocks records for a year (I was only 13). Needless to say, I finally saw the light, got the album and it has been in semi regular rotation ever since. Recently I met a new friend that is just as crazy about the whole post-punk/goth/synthpop thing, and he has felt the same way about this album since he was a kid. It is one of the few albums that when I put it on, I let it play in it's entirity. It would seem a sacrilige to take it off half way through. So light some candles and insense and read some Poe, Dickinson, Or The Grey Garden, something dark and lovely and enjoy this album swirling in the background."

Could this be the jewel in the 4AD crown?

cre8orjvs | washington, d.c. | 06/23/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

""CoX" is flat-out dynamite, easily ranking among my all-time favorites. few other CDs blend songcraft, danceable undercurrents and haunting lyrical sensibilities as seamlessly as this one does.it ebbs and flows nicely between driving rhythmic tracks and calmer, more emotive melodies. although there isn't a bad song in the lot, my personal favorite is "cry in the wind" (track 4), which builds to a crescendo that still electrifies me 12 years after hearing it for the first time.absolutely, positively worth the money. while you're at it, pick up the follow-up (medusa) and immerse yourself in the definitive clan of xymox experience!"

Like standing on Mount Olympus

filterite | Dublin, Ireland | 02/13/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This was their debut album and it is unbelieveable debut album at that . Most of these songs sound like they've been shining down from the Greek gods for a long time . I guarantee you that you get value for money when you listen to the start of A day and up until the very last track it doesn't hold up . Mesmerizing album from an equally mesmerizing band"